This news comes straight from the horse’s mouth. Mick Cronin, who has had his name rumored for the North Carolina State job, told Bill Koch “it’s just a matter of time.” The Bearcats coach said that it’s just a matter of details. Cronin also stated that he wants to retire as Bearcat coach, which is a nice statement. I don’t know how true that is, but hey, he wants to be here.
Cronin was rumored for the Arkansas job, but not really a favorite. That position went to Mike Anderson from Missouri. Cronin’s name came up for the Missouri job as a result. Yesterday, Mizzou hired Miami coach Frank Haith. The NC State job has had Cronin’s name as a finalist for the position. It appears the Wolfpack are going to have to head in a new direction. There are rumors that Kansas State head coach Frank Martin is the top candidate for the Miami job, so it’s a great thing that UC locked up Mick so we can avoid those rumors.
Mick Cronin deserves this extension. He turned around the culture of Cincinnati basketball the last 2 years especially. UC should have a pretty decent team heading into next season. They will have a nice recruiting class, and return 3 starters. There was a lot of pressure on Cronin to get things competitive in the Big East. Not only did UC do that, but they finished with a bye in the Big East tournament. For the second year in a row, the Bearcats won a game in the BET. That got them a 6 seed in the NCAA tournament. The Bearcats won a game over Missouri, before falling to the Connecticut Huskies, who are in action tonight.
I’m happy that UC was able to get the deal done. This was not a point in the program where you wanted to lose your coach. Stability is pretty important when you are on the way up. I hope the UC administration keeps the committment to winning. Momentum around the basketball program is rising, and a large part of it is due to Cronin. Let’s hope he keeps it going.
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